Mission, Vision, Goals

Mission
The Linden Center for Creativity and Aging exists within the Gerontology Institute of Ithaca College to encourage research, creative expression, model programs, student internships, and public education on creativity in the late stages of the life course. While focusing on the arts, the Center is built on the premise that an aging society brings opportunities for innovation in many academic disciplines. Thus it will support work on creativity across all disciplines of the college with particular emphasis on emerging areas of knowledge. The Linden Center seeks to serve as a nationally visible academic resource for addressing the relationship between aging and creativity and the opportunities that creativity among older persons provides to individuals, communities, and society.

Vision
The Linden Center for Creativity and Aging will be a national leader in exploring and documenting the relationship between the creative arts (e.g. music, acting, painting, photography and writing) and the enhancement of quality of life among older adults through innovative research, curriculum development and education, and community arts programs that involve people of all ages.

Goals
The Goals of the Linden Center are to:

• Develop, implement, and assess curricular innovation and co-curricular activities that use interactions with older adults and the creative arts to teach students about the aging process.
• Develop, support, and assess community programs that involve older adults in creative activities that impact their quality of life.
• Develop, implement, and assess creative arts intergenerational experiences that involve older and younger people learning from one another and "doing" together.
• Increase interest in creativity and aging at Ithaca College and in the Ithaca community through speakers, workshops, visiting artists, research projects and curricular offerings.
• Establish the Linden Center as a national leader in creativity and aging through printed and web-based education and marketing materials and high profile on and off campus events.
• Partner with national organizations working in the area of Creativity and Aging to enhance the Center's visibility at the national level.
• Augment the Linden gift with external funding to support its activities.